Philosophizing Exegesis: The Sketch of the Emergence and Development of Tafsīr Maqāṣidī



Author Information

Muhammad Abdul Aziz, University of PTIQ-PKUMI Jakarta, Indonesia
Muhammad Hariyadi, University of PTIQ Jakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

In the course of Muslim scholarship, the experiment to transplant philosophy into fiqh (jurisprudence) is successful with the birth of uṣūl al-fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence), particularly in the case of maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah (Islamic teleology). However, the one transplanted into tafsīr (Qur’anic exegesis), which is hereby called tafsīr maqāṣidī and the initiative itself has indeed occurred just in the last decade, has remained underdeveloped. The present research thus aims to investigate the emergence and development of tafsīr maqāṣidī by exploring three main questions: how did tafsīr maqāṣidī first emerge? How has philosophy been incorporated into the Qur’anic exegesis that has eventually resulted in a role in that emergence? How far is the implication of such an incorporation in the Muslim enterprise to address modern challenges? Employing historical and content analyses, the research concludes that the emergence of tafsīr maqāṣidī is a further development of tafsīr mawḍū‘ī, another method of Qur'anic exegesis seen as lacking some visionary, philosophical dimensions, in a quest to respond to a global challenge called religious extremism. The gap in tafsīr mawḍū‘ī was then met by transplanting the theory of Islamic teleology (naẓariyyat al-maqāṣid) as the philosophy of Islamic teachings, bringing then about the so-called tafsīr maqāṣidī – with the emphasis being more on the objective (maqāṣid) instead of means (wasā’il). In the Indonesian context, the interpretation of Pancasila (the five principles), which is the country’s philosophical foundation, that Quraish Shihab – the greatest Qur’anic commentators in contemporary Indonesia – provides is where exegesis, philosophy, and law.


Paper Information

Conference: ACAH2025
Stream: Religion

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Posted by James Alexander Gordon